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Philadelphia’s Reef is shipwrecked with Poor Service

So Grub is in Philadelphia for the annual Blogging While Brown and the closing social was being held at this quaint Caribbean restaurant. Now while we were a part of a private party upstairs, Grub thought it would be a good idea to have dinner and experience all Philly has to offer in terms of island dining. The Reef seemed like an inviting enough place. They have a full bar when you walk in, and the activity at the bar seemed adequate. Grub hates empty bars – its a sign of bigger issues! The upstairs where we gathered has plenty of room for large parties and has a separate bar.

The restaurant served us appetizers during the private gathering. Among the ones I sampled were the Crispy Wings that the restaurant advertises as fried “Southern Style.” Though the wings were flavorful and cooked through, they were far from crispy. Not sure what their definition of crispy is, but if the wings slide out of your fingers, they are not crispy. The other appetizer I sampled was the dry-panadas, which was very flaky as filo dough should be, but the filling was overcooked and left the treat pasty on the palate.

Appetizer = C

I had dinner with two of my blogging mates, whom shall remain anonymous, as I did not get their permission to publish them in this post. They both ordered the Curry Chicken, which looked and smelled great, and from all reports tasted good as well. I ordered the Jerk BBQ Beef Short Ribs, which were essentially short ribs. There was no jerk flavor, just an overpowering of BBQ sauce, which, if my palate serves me correctly, was made by Kraft. The beef was tender, as short ribs are supposed to be, but they certainly weren’t awe-inspiring. The ribs were served with cabbage and julienned yams. The yams were really sweet and “candied.” The cabbage was serviceable, but again not jaw dropping.

Entrée = B

When we came downstairs for dinner and asked the waitress who was sitting down on the job for a table, she never stood up. She motioned to the front-end manager and said, “They want a table.” The front-end manager found us a table after a ten-minute wait. The waiter took and addition eight minutes before he came over to the table to tell us that he would be back in a minute. Let me tell you a little about me – If you come to take my order and I tell you that I am ready to order, you have already taken to long to wait on me. I was ready to order. We had to repeatedly ask for drink refills, and we never received an apology for our inconvenience. Level of service is one of my requirements and I have little tolerance for subpar performance in this area. To top off the evening, our waiter informed us that the restaurant does not allow separate checks! Our party was only three deep, yet they could not split the bill.

Service = F

The Reef has potential, and I think that it can become the restaurant that it aspires to be. The food was fresh, hot and appetizing. The appetizers should go into the garbage can, so avoid them if at all possible. If you can past the horrible service, which I cant, this could be a great restaurant. When I go out to eat, I am spending my money, and I want to get my money’s worth. If your food is great and your service is poor, your restaurant is poor. Grub has told many a restaurant owner that they would be closed in six months, and to date I have not ben wrong. I will try Reef again the next time I visit Philly. Hopefully their service will at least rise to match their food.

As for of now, Reef is a place with good grub, but their business model is steeped in garbage.